Plaything
by Prime627
Summary: Sentinel chooses a successor, and after vowing that he would never fall in love again, he does, and things get complicated.
1. Chapter 1

Orion looked up at his mentor. Sentinel was huge, strong, and glorious where Orion was small, weak, and insignificant. Sentinel had plucked him out of the Well himself, seeing the possibility of greatness in the little frame of the tiny sparkling. He held the little one close as he registered him with the supervisors, soothing the sparkling whenever he squawked or whined. He stroked his helm as he spoke. "He will be known as Orion Pax. He will also be a data-clerk under the Master Archivest Alpha Trion." He walked away with the sparkling tucked between his servo and his chest.

He took him to his home, laying the little one down on his berth. He watched him cry and squirm for someone to hold him. "Hush your cries, Orion Pax. You will not be held forever."

The little one sobbed and shoved his thumb into his mouth. He soothed himself. He passed the first test. He cooed up at Sentinel Prime as he moved closer and he paddled his little pedes in excitement.

"Shhh," the great mech said as he laid beside him. He was not fond of those younger than him, but he put up with them. He had to, if he was to find a successor. The thing with successors was that if he chose wrongly, and Primus called for him, the mech he had chosen would be in charge and Primus knew what the mech had in store for innocent lives.

He had led the Cybertronians for eons. He could barely remember his mentor, which was probably because the mech wasn't a very good Prime. He knew that he was better than him. The High Council hadn't told him to get a sparkling from the Well ASAP. He had chosen little Orion on his own accord, which was somewhat due to the feeling of need. He felt as though he almost needed to get a successor. It often happened to Primes. They were blesssed with a long life due to the fact that they were treated as royalty, and were not allowed to do much of anything by themselves. They would often get bored of their long life and retire, though it was not advised and it was frowned down upon. It was no secret that the Primes who were bored faked their deaths simply so they could go into a different job of their choosing.

So far, Sentinel had not been bored. He had been completely preoccupied with mountains and mountains of paperwork. He was too busy to be bored. But he could almost hear Primus calling him, keening for him to join the Core with him in an eternal life. And more than once he almost jumped up and ran to the Core only to be weighed down by more paperwork.

Orion had fallen asleep beside him, his little back against Sentinel's stomach. He gently stroked his helm and he sighed. He vowed to only show affection to mechs and femmes who were not paying attention. And right now, little baby Orion was not paying attention.

Or he was. The little sparkling started to purr and his optics opened as he blinked up at him and whined softly at him. Sentinel frowned down at him, but he laid his helm down and he sighed. He would never be able to stop showing affection. It was in his coding, as it was in every Cybertronian's coding, to cuddle, snuggle, nuzzle, kiss, hug, and wrap arms around another. He had not had a partner in the same berth for years, and now he had a baby. He sighed and kissed the baby's helm, which made the sparkling giggle and purr.

He bared his denta in a warning, but the baby just wrapped his arms around him and cuddle closer.

He stiffened. He hadn't been touched in a long time, so when the sparkling did, he was surprised. He slowly pulled the sparkling against him and he smiled. The sparkling fell asleep almost instantly, and it made Sentinel smile. He gently kissed his helm, holding the baby close. He was finding himself adoring the sparkling, the way he had vowed to not to.

OoO

Orion was learning. He had been in and out of classes teaching the newborns to take alternate modes, teaching them how to speak, how to act, how to walk. Sentinel would stand in the doorway of the room. He would often distract the giggling mechling, and the teacher would get minorly frustrated before she or he would remember that Sentinel was watching and they didn't have the spark to tell him to leave, not when Orion would shriek and threaten to cry if he could not see Sentinel.

Sentinel purred as he knelt and he opened his arms for Orion to run to him when the class was dismissed. He would giggle and purr and paw at the larger mech's face while the mentors went to retrieve their own sparklings. One of them was a fierce silvery mech that was being taken by a gladiator. Sentinel wished he could take two sparklings as successors, but there could only be one Prime at a time, which was unfortunate. He was saddened whenever he saw a sparkling being taken under a gladiator's wing. Some of them never got to grow up fully.

He was glad he had saved atleast one sparkling from the gladitorial pits. He carried Orion out and he kissed his helm gently. "You are so very blessed."

The sparkling curled up and fell asleep, purring into his chest while the Prime whispered to him and he smiled down at the sparkling. They were so precious, and now he was beginning to see that. He stroked his helm as he walked, and he let curious femmes peek at the possible Prime. He enjoyed how the sparkling shyly pressed back into his chest if he woke up and saw young femmes peering down at him. He was especially amused when he was introduced to the medic-in-training, a lovely mech by the name of Ratchet, named by Sprocket. Orion had actually begged to be held by the yellow-green mech, and Sprocket and Sentinel visited briefly before Orion grew anxious at being apart from his mentor for so long.

"I must return him to our home," Sentinel said. He took Orion back, cooing quietly.

Sprocket stroked Ratchet's helm. Mentors were possessive of their apprentices. "I know. Ratchet had been the same way, only fussier and whinier."

Ratchet groaned and he swatted at his mentor. "You tell everyone that!"

Sentinel bid them a good evening, patting Ratchet's helm as he walked by, and he looked down at Orion. "You will be great friends with Ratchet. The greatest ally and companion to a Prime is a medic."

Orion maked an agreeing burble and he squealed in delight when Sentinel rubbed his helm. He hugged his servo, and Sentinel forgot all about the lessons Orion was supposed to be learning. If Sentinel's mentor had been too uncaring and too harsh, he was too gentle and too kind. Was there a line between them that would produce the greatest Prime?

That night, to teach Orion that Sentinel would not be around all the time, Orion slept on his own.

Atleast, that was the plan.

Orion never slept. He sobbed. He cried. He screamed. He howled. He chewed on his digits until they bled. He whined Dadda and Daddy, words that were not in Sentinel's vocabulary.

And Sentinel stayed awake all night, watching, never making a move to soothe the sparkling. Orion gave up, worn and exhausted. His vocodor was strained. Sentinel would have Sprocket check him out for injury later.

But just as the sun rose, Orion fell asleep. Sentinel sighed and put his helm down as he stared between his pedes, his arms resting on his knees. He sat up, regained proper posture like he was taught, and he gathered Orion into his arms. The sparkling had classes.

The teacher, a femme named Fireflare, was disappointed in Orion. He wasn't obedient in the orders she would give him, and he lacked the ambition and interest she had seen from him the day before. She had him sit in the back corner, swatting Jazz's grabby servos away when the mechling tried to reach for his newfound friend.

"Get back to your exercizes!"

The sparklings were trying to take on an alt form and transform into it. It was a hard thing to do, but everyone learned to do it at this stage. It was the best stage, when it would become a natural thing to do instead of a new thing.

Orion looked over at Sentinel, who was glaring at him. He curled into a ball. He learned what it felt to fail, and he hated it.

Jazz was watching. He was to become a reporter who would broadcast the news via the communication devices everyone was issued. He and Orion would work well together, since Orion was not only training to be a Prime, but to be a data-clerk under the Master Archivest.

Alpha Trion was watching as well, beside Orion's mentor. The older mech swatted at the Prime's shoulder and said something that Orion didn't catch. Sentinel sighed, nodded, then walked to Orion.

The little mechling looked up at him.

"Orion, are you well?" Gentle servos touched him all over, searching for wounds. He saw his chewed digits, then he sighed gently. "Orion? Are you well?"

Orion looked down at his little servos, then he shrugged slightly. "I tired..."

"I know you are, but you have to train."

The little one nodded slightly and he slowly reached up to hug Sentinel's neck. The larger mech allowed him.

Alpha Trion, when he caught Setinel's optics, nodded in approval. The Prime stood up slowly and he held Orion in his arms. Then he set Orion down next to Jazz.

Orion's energy was renewed and he went about his exercizes with eagerness. When the class was dismissed and treats were rewarded, Orion and Jazz ran out of the doorway together, purring and giggling as Recordmaster and Sentinel scooped them up.

"Ah, so there's the little runt of a Prime. Yes, sir, everyone's talking about you, little one. Look how precious you are," Recordmaster purred. He tickled the little one's chin, making the baby squawk and giggle softly. Jazz giggled and purred back, watching the little one with interest.

"Yes, but he will not be a runt for long. You wait until he gets bigger than you, Recordmaster."

"Aye-aye, sir!"

Sentinel waved him off as he laughed, then he walked back to his home. He laid Orion down to sleep, affectionately cleaning his body as he kissed his helm. He was growing fond and attached, which was bad, but Sentinel could not help himself. He found himself loving the little one.

OoO

Orion woke up. He was curled against the older mech, who was still sleeping. He pulled away from him slowly, then, with equal hesitance, put on his missing armor plates. It had gotten uncomfortably hot during the night, and Sentinel told him that it was expected because he was growing up. In fact, he was almost fully mature. He beamed with pride at the thought. Then he looked over at Sentinel, who had been more than a mentor. He had been a protector, and something more. There was love there, Orion knew, and he purred loudly.

The purring woke Sentinel. The Prime rolled to his back, then sat up. He checked the little mech over, then nodded a bit. "You're getting hotter," he commented. He gently nuzzled his successor, which made the purring grow louder between them.

"I feel kind of weird, Sentinel," Orion murmured as he stood. He had to go to the Iacon Hall of Records now, since he was old enough to be a data-clerk, but he didn't want to leave Sentinel. He felt...needy. Grabby. Like a sparkling, but not like a sparkling. "Perhaps you should call me in with a malfunction?"

"The only thing that is malfunctioning is your helm," Sentinel grumbled as he stood. "You know I cannot simply call you i-" He looked the mech up and down, pausing when he saw something on his inner thigh. "Perhaps we should take a trip to the medics after all..."

Orion looked down and he saw a fluid trail going down his leg. He whined. This had never happened before. He trembled and he let Sentinel pull him to the wash racks.

Sentinel slowly pulled away. "I don't believe it..." He looked at the tiny mech. "You are in heat, something that had not been seen in a long time."

**Something I'm trying. Inspired slightly by the new (formerly new) Superman movie where the babies come from a little pond-like thing instead of being born and Superman is different because he is born...and, well, if you've seen it you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't, then you're probably staring at the screen wondering if they have a straight jacket in my size.**

**This is also inspired by this in the novel Dark of the Moon based on the screenplay:**

_**"All I ever wanted," he gasps out, "was the survival of our race. You must see...why I had to betray you."**_

_**He reaches up with a trembling hand, which I ignore. "You did not betray me. You betrayed yourself."**_

_**His hand sags, falls to the ground, and dissolves. Moments later, so does the rest of him. I feel as if I have just slain a part of myself. Just as humans who have lost limbs claim that they still feel phantom pain from the missing body parts, so too will I always know the sensation of the absent part of my life called Sentinel.**_

_**Except...**_

_**I lost him once.**_

_**I can lose him again.**_

**The novel is by Peter David x3 It's super good and super funny.**

**-Prime627**


	2. Chapter 2

Sprocket didn't know what to make of the little data-clerk Prime-to-be. Heat cycles had come and gone. They depended on the Well for newborns, not breeding. Sprocket was not sure if the femmes, the so few they had, were even fertile or had the ability to carry sparklings. And it would not matter, anyway. They had the Well, and they had the AllSpark. They would _always_ have the AllSpark on Cybertron.

Orion sat on the medberth while Ratchet distracted the young mech. Sprocket was going to draw some Energon from the mech while Sentinel paced in the hall outside the door. But Orion wasn't so easily distracted. His optics never missed a thing. He would be a good Prime, Sprocket thought as he drew the Energon. "Excellent...thank you for not swatting at me, Orion."

The mech nodded and he looked down at his pedes. He was frowning at the fluid that had dried on his legs. Ratchet was supposed to be cleaning him up, but Sprocket had gotten him busy doing other things. So Sprocket kneeled and started cleaning his leg armor. Ratchet let Sentinel in.

"What is wrong with him?"

"There is nothing wrong with him," Sprocket concluded. "His body is working as it should." He gave the Prime the test results, knowing that his friend could understand the seemingly made-up language of the medics.

"But...his heat cycle..."

Sprocket sat down at his desk as he did a little research just to get his facts right. "If I recall, the Thirteen Primes had heat cycles and their descendants had heat cycles, and their descendants after that...and when mechs started to use the femmes as pleasure drones and nothing more, Primus sent us the AllSpark and made the Well of the AllSpark."

"Orion is not one of the Thirteen or any of their descendants! He is a Cybertronian that crawled out of the Well mewling and whining for someone to take him home." Sentinel threw down the Energon test results. He was tired of listening to Sprocket babble about seemingly nothing.

"Ah. So why is he in heat?"

While the mentors argued, Ratchet was cleaning up the MedBay. Orion was listening to his mentor and to Ratchet's as they growled and cursed.

Sentinel stormed out of Sprocket's office, grabbed Orion, and drug the little Prime-to-be home. He sat him down on their berth. "What is going on, Orion?"

Orion looked down. He didn't know what Sentinel wanted him to do. Apologize for something he couldn't control? "I don't know, sir."

Sentinel sighed and he gently touched Orion's helm. "Perhaps we need to find out together, mm?" The great mech walked to his "off-duty office" and sat down in his chair with his data pad. Orion sat across from him.

They researched for hours, sharing what they had found and asking themselves questions. When Sentinel asked a question toward Orion and received no response, he looked up. Orion was fast asleep, the data pad on his lap. Sentinel scooped the little one up and deposited him on their berth before he laid beside him.

When Sentinel woke up the next morning, Orion was nearly completely out of his armor. The little mech was twitching, groaning, and was hot under Sentinel's servo when the Prime went to shake him awake. The Prime hesitated, pulled his servo back, and just watched him sleep.

What was going on? Sentinel had seen femmes and mechs mate, he had seen sparklings being born, he had seen the rise of the Well, and he had seen the result: less born sparklings and more sparklings out of the Well. But here was a mech in his heat cycle as if the Well had never come. Was Primus trying to say something? _The age of the Well is coming to an end_? _Mechs, check to see if your rods still work_? Primus worked in his own ways, and he never let anyone in on a secret. Three bots could keep a secret if one of them was Primus, Sentinel supposed, since Primus told no one anything.

Orion woke up slowly, looking over at Sentinel with tired blue optics. "Good morning, sir."

"Orion, you start your shift at the Hall of Records in an hour."

Orion just blinked at him. Then he stood up and snapped every plate of armor back in its appropriate spot. He spoke when he was finished. "I think I can control myself," he said softly.

Sentinel was confused. _Control_ himself? What would this heat cycle do besides make little Orion too hot to touch? Sentinel had a feeling he would know soon. Very soon.

The Prime and Prime-to-be walked side-by-side without incident. No femme stopped to talk to him, no mech jogged beside Orion to bother him, no one stopped the two Primes. Perhaps it was because Sentinel looked furious and Orion looked...out of sorts. Pale, hunched over as if Sentinel had beaten him with an Insecticon whip.

Alpha Trion looked concerned when Orion walked to his station and the Master Archivist gave Sentinel a hard look, but nodded when the Prime muttered _I'll tell you later_.

Sentinel led Alpha Trion to the Archivist's office. "Orion is suffering from a heat cycle."

Alpha Trion stopped for a moment, looked at Sentinel in such a way that really made the Prime want to leap at him, then said, "I do not believe 'suffering' is the right word. My last heat cycle was anything but. Inconveniant, a little annoying, and-"

"How do I stop it?"  
Sentinel watched the Archivist sit down and pull at his lower lip in thought. He was getting impatient, but he had a small reserve of patience just for Alpha Trion.

"You're lucky he is a mech. I remember when Solus Prime was in heat. It took years before she could settle down properly. Prima would have neutered us on the spot if he found out anyone took advantage of our sister."

The older mech continued to babble about Solus being in heat and Onyx Prime's efforts to avoid her, but Sentinel listened. Any information at this point was welcome, and Alpha Trion was the oldest mech on Cybertron.

"...and then when it was a mech's turn to be in heat, he was only in his heat cycle for a couple of weeks. No matter who it was, he would settle down and go about his business normally."

Alpha Trion took a breath, but Sentinel jumped in. "So, you're saying Orion will be better in a matter of weeks? How many?"

"Five or six. It's far better than a femme, who can be in heat for years."

"Why years?"

Alpha Trion looked at him as if Sentinel had asked the stupidest question imaginable. "To carry as many sparklings as possible, of course. To get several sires that can potentionally produce a good servoful of sparklings."

Sentinel sighed and he nodded in understanding. But that didn't answer the most important question: How did he get Orion out of a heat cycle ASAP?

"As soon as possible?" Alpha Trion looked at him. "Mechs can only last one interface, then they get out of their heat cycles without being too hot to touch and fidgetty."

Sentinel sighed. Just his luck. "Thank you, Alpha Trion."

"Before you leave, I want you to take Orion home. He can be dominated here easily by any mech that sees that he can and has the hardware to do so. Better he has his first interface willingly than not, mm?"

Sentinel didn't like the look in Alpha Trion's optics when he said that. Did the Master Archivist expect him, Sentinel Prime, to mount his successor? He knew he was the only one Orion knew that could do it and not lose their processor during the interface, but did he have the holding tank to do go through with it?

Sentinel grabbed Orion. "Alpha Trion is excusing you due to your...illness."

Orion followed Sentinel out of the Hall of Records, his helm down as if Sentinel had humiliated him in front of everyone. Sentinel's spark went out to his little apprentice. He ushered Orion into their home and into their shared quarters.

"I'm sorry," Orion said suddenly.

"For?" Sentinel was used to Orion apologizing for everything and anything.

"For being in heat."

"Orion." Sentinel sighed his name. He didn't have anything really to say to his little successor. He couldn't scold him for something he had no control over.

Orion laid down on his belly on the berth, speaking into the pillow. "Why is this happening to me?"

"It was bound to happen to someone," Sentinel said, but he didn't know if that was truth or not. Was this really "bound" to happen, or was it just something that happened? A fluke? Did Primus make an error? No, Sentinel thought as he shook his helm. Primus didn't make mistakes.

"Why did it happen to _me_?"

Sentinel sat down beside Orion. "Perhaps Primus has bigger plans for you."

Orion scoffed, but it was playfull. Sentinel laid down beside him and he drew him closer even though Orion was burning. It was as if he had hugged a white-hot sword instead of a young mech that was becoming a full-grown mech and soon a full-grown Prime.

He touched Orion's forehelm. "Perhaps you need a nice cold shower." He stroked the mech's helm.

"Mmmmm." Orion's optics closed and Sentinel took it as _a shower sounds excellent, Sentinel_ instead of a response to physical contact.

Sentinel lifted Orion off the berth and he stood him in the wash racks under the shower head. He turned the handle and soon both mechs were under a cold water spray. Sentinel watched as Orion tipped his helm up and stood under the water, letting the cold water soothe his heated body.

The Prime stroked Orion's helm again, pleased to find Orion liked it, and he pulled the little mech behind him. He was filthy himself, so while Orion stopped shivering from the water, Sentinel became his shield as he scrubbed at the dirty red armor on his chest. He turned around when he finished and he let the cold water thrum against his back. Orion was staring up at him.

Sentinel felt instantly possessive of Orion, not only as a mentor, but as a sire.

And as something more.

Dare he think _mate_?

Yes, Sentinel thought as he cradled Orion's cheek and the mech leaned into his touch. Sentinel turned off the water and led Orion back to their quarters. Both mechs knew what was to happen. Orion laid down on his belly, hugging a pillow to his chest while he heard the clicks of Sentinel's armor coming undone. The loud click and hiss of a panel coming back was Orion's warning to prepare himself. He dug his digits into the pillow and pressed his face into the fabric while the heavier mech settled on top of him.

Sentinel asked if Orion was well, and the little one nodded as he shifted under the mech. He looked back over his shoulder, but Sentinel was buried inside him. Orion's optics and neck began to hurt from looking so far back so long and he laid his helm back down on the pillow. Sentinel started to move.

Orion hissed softly and bared his denta as his optics squeezed shut. Sentinel made soft noises as he started to move faster. Orion felt Sentinel's servo move against his belly and then go further down. Orion pressed his face into the pillow as he heard his own panel slide back at Sentinel's command.

Sentinel was pleased to find that he was more dominant than Orion. Had Orion out-dominated him, the Prime would have had to ask Orion to pull his panel back, but Orion's submissive body was willing to be ordered around and used so Sentinel had no reason to ask Orion to do anything but lay still.

**ooo**

When it was over, Sentinel cleaned them both up. Orion's body was cooling down to a normal temperature and he was returning to his normal self. But Sentinel was more possessive now, more than he had ever been before, and he cornered Orion in the shower.

"You are _mine_." Sentinel loved to express his dominance over those more submissive than he, and he did it now. Orion was used to it, however, and he nuzzled into Sentinel's chest. The only one that could ever and would ever stand up to Sentinel was his successor.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Years later...**_

Sentinel pulled away from Orion. The sparkling he had once knew had grown up to a handsome mech and his closest friend/mate, who was still sleeping with an ever-present smile of his faceplates. He rolled off the cot that had served as their berth for years. The War for Cybertron had begun.

Megatron, the grey sparkling Sentinel had once pitied, was now the leader of a massive army that called themselves the Decepticons. And Sentinel was off to meet him.

He didn't like sneaking about, but he had to keep his fellow Cybertronians (including young Orion) safe. It was his duty as a Prime, and he took that very seriously.

Megatron, like always, was waiting for him on the edge of the Sea of Rust, which was murkier than usual. The Sea of Rust was the only huge body of Energon on Cybertron, and the Sea of Energon became the Sea of Rust during the war. Sentinel missed its blue surface. He shuddered when he saw that Megatron was fishing for something: a Cybertronian corpse.

"Do you recognize this one, Sentinel?" Megatron finally got hold of the body and he held up the Cybertronian. It was one of Sprocket's latest crack at a medic, a little femme named Stitch. She had been one of the best medics.

Sentinel slowly nodded and he sighed as he lowered his helm. "She was one of our best medics," he confessed.

Megatron made a soft sound of mock pity, then he threw her body back into the sea. He turned to look at Sentinel. "There will be more babies in the sea if you do not defect as promised."

Sentinel looked out at the sea, saw more bodies, and his processor inserted Orion into the scene, bobbing lifeless with the others. The Prime whined and looked down at his pedes. He couldn't betray his sucessor...

But Megatron was not known for his limitless patience. Already Sentinel heard the famous blaster fire up.

"Very well, Megatron...I will defect."

"And you will include the Pillars," Megatron prompted. That was all it was about. The Pillars. The SpaceBridge Pillars.

Sentinel nodded again. "I will include the SpaceBridge Pillars."

"And the Control Pillar."

Megatron wasn't too bright. Without the Control Pillar, the other Pillars would be useless. But Sentinel just nodded like the good traitor he had become. He whined again. His spark felt like Megatron had impaled it on a cruel blade, but Sentinel was no good to him dead. Sentinel would be left to live, left to have the guilt devour him like rust.

Orion was still sleeping when Sentinel returned. The Prime stroked his helm, then he forced his successor awake. He mounted him before Orion could fully process what was going on.

Primus, Sentinel loved Orion. The mech never wondered why Sentinel forced him to interface during the war, and he didn't ask questions either. He just moved into a comfortable position and sometimes would pretend to sleep. Orion was quickly becoming a pleasure drone, an outlet for Sentinel's stress, instead of a mate, but he didn't seem to mind.

In fact, when Sentinel finished, Orion rolled over and kissed his cheek. "Feel better soon," he whispered, and he left to scrub off in the wash racks.

Sentinel pressed his face into Orion's pillow and he silently howled into the fabric. Could he really betray his team? His mate?

If he wanted them all to live happy lives, he would. He had to.

So he faked his death. He locked himself away just as Megatron had ordered. While he heard the crew of the Ark scream and howl in pain, he was safely tucked away with five pillars. The rest were tucked away elsewhere in hidden places on the ship that the Decepticons could find when they visited the ship later.

Sentinel thought of Orion, newly named Optimus by Sentinel Prime himself, as he touched the syringe. The fluid inside was to put him in stasis so that Optimus could simply rouse him with another fluid in another syringe that medics always carried. In fact, to ensure that the plan went perfectly, Megatron had actually _supplied_ Ratchet with the fluid needed to rouse mechs from stasis during the latest truce before the battles started up again.

Sentinel felt a twinge in his spark when he thought of his beloved Orion. He threw the syringe away. He smirked at the satisfying sound of glass shattering. Then he laid back and let his body use up all of his Energon.

The only way, Sentinel thought as his optics closed, that Optimus could revive him was with the Matrix. He laughed. The Matrix had not been seen since the Age of the Primes! There was no _way_ that Optimus could find it if it was in fact real.

So Sentinel slept easy, gasping softly when his body finally did run out of Energon. His grip on the pillars quickly failed and he had a smile on his face. He had deceived a Decepticon.

Mission accomplished.

**ooo**

Sentinel's optics slowly opened. The first thought he had was that Megatron was there, shaking him awake so that he could watch the light fade from the double-traitor's eyes. So he tackled the mech speaking his name, driving a fist into his belly, face, chest. He kicked him where it mattered, but the mech did nothing. It was as if the mech had taken years and years of abuse.

"Sentinel, please," the mech said.

Sentinel froze and he looked down at his beloved Optimus. His optics cleared and he went frameless. Optimus caught him in time and he cradled his helm while insects swarmed them.

"Stay back, humans," Optimus said and he waved them back. The insects backed a few steps back and just stared at Sentinel.

Sentinel was staring at Optimus. The mech had hardly changed, though Sentinel supposed he was Prime since Sentinel had dropped off the Grid.

While Optimus filled him in on their new surroundings, Sentinel found that he couldn't look away from his successor and mate. Were they still able to be close? Could he stop being a traitor?  
No. Optimus informed Sentinel of Megatron's location here on planet Earth. Sentinel wanted to howl.

After a rather aggrivating human quit interrogating him, Optimus led him away by the servo. The older mech let the younger one tow him around to the Prime's personal quarters.

Sentinel watched the mech lay on his belly on the large berth. Optimus blinked back at him with dimmed optics. He watched as Sentinel closed the door and sighed quietly as the lights turned off. Then Sentinel mounted his plaything and reminded Optimus just who was in charge.

Optimus was still submissive, and when Sentinel reached down to unlatch his panel, he wasn't surpised when it slid back at his touch, but he would have been surprised to learn that Optimus slid it back on his own. Optimus out-dominated him now, but he let Sentinel mount him. He flipped over, another giveaway that Optimus was more dominate, but Sentinel missed it during the satisfying feeling of his overload fading away.

Optimus pulled Sentinel into a kiss, and the Prime pulled out of the Prime to lay down beside him.

The two Primes held onto each other, Optimus stroking Sentinel's helm possessively.

Sentinel woke up hours later. He drew away from Optimus to go meet Megatron. Optimus whined, but he didn't wake. Optimus never did, not even when he was Orion. He was a sound sleeper.

Megatron was waiting on the edge of a sea for Sentinel. He smirked when the Prime arrived and he turned. A dead shark was in his servo. It was a great white and a bull (which, he learned from Optimus, meant a male). It was dangerous to humans, but Megatron had taken it down with no trouble at all. Sentinel gulped. It was a warning. The shark was Optimus, he thought.

"Isn't it beautiful, this dead beast? So dangerous to humans, so dangerous to anyone who comes to them that happens to spook it."

Sentinel was staring at the shark as Megatron shook it in a way that mocked it and its kind. Sentinel didn't want to watch anymore, but he couldn't look away.

Megatron threw the dead beast into the ocean. "Do as you had promised and I won't kill you and everyone you love."

Sentinel nodded vigorously for Optimus' sake, for his friends' sake. He walked back to the Autobot base, taking his time as he thought about what he was supposed to do.

Betray his beloved? Or betray someone who had the ability to kill everyone he held dear to his spark?


	4. Chapter 4

_**The final battle**_

Sentinel crawled forward. He had been beaten by his mate and his mate's closest friend/evillest rival. He didn't look Optimus in the optic as he tried to get away. He simply murmured apologies. He realized how dominate Optimus had become.

The Prime, the real Prime, walked after him. "Sentinel," he growled. "Get up."

Sentinel fell to his belly and he laid there like the submissive mech that he had become. He closed his optics, but Optimus promptly kicked his pede gently but enough to know that Sentinel was in for it.

"I hope you see...why I had to betray you."

Optimus growled, but Sentinel cut him off.

"You were my successor, and then you became something more. And then I betrayed you for Cybertron, for your safety. For everyone's, in fact! I just wanted everyone safe. It was my duty as a Prime..."

Optimus shifted his weight. Sentinel could hear it. His successor was exhausted, but he was still dominate and he still had the upper-servo. Sentinel counted himself lucky that Optimus hadn't shot his helm off yet. Perhaps he was going to be let go!

Sentinel continued on that thought. "You were my closest companion, and I adored my precious little Orion." That's right, Sentinel, he thought as he crawled away from the mighty Prime. Just keep sweet-talking. That was how he got to Orion's spark in the past.

But Optimus was not Orion. The Prime scoffed softly, so softly that Sentinel wondered if he had imagined it. "I was not your closest companion. I was a mere plaything. But now it is you that is submissive, and it is I that stands dominate." Optimus took aim, then addressed Sentinel again as the Prime turned his helm to face his successor. "You did not betray me. You betrayed yourself."

Sentinel said nothing. His optics dimmed moments before the bullet lodged into his helm. For a moment, he was fully conscious. He watched Optimus as the young Prime knelt and scooped him up.

"Rest, great Prime," Optimus breathed. He held Sentinel against his chest.

For some reason unbeknownst to Sentinel, he was still functioning. There was a quiet subtle thrum of his spark every odd minute. It went unheard past Ratchet, who pronounced Sentinel as one with the AllSpark. Optimus' mouth narrowed into a firm line and he continued walking.

Sentinel could not move, could not speak, and could not fade into unconsciousness. He tried to alert Optimus that he had not died, but the Prime was looking ahead and was completely ignoring his mentor. Sentinel inwardly cursed, a string of words that never reached his vocodor.

Then Optimus dropped Sentinel by a lake. A spell was broken and Sentinel could move again. Megatron was curled into a ball by the lake as well.

Sentinel stood and went to grab Optimus' audio like he used to whenever Orion misbehaved, but Optimus caught his servo easily, twisting Sentinel's wrist away from him. There was a snap and the Prime fell away, clutching it, then he stared at Optimus in shock.

The Prime was missing his dominate arm. Optimus had snapped his wrist with his weaker servo. Sentinel cursed softly.

"I have decided to let you both go," he whispered. Optimus gave them gentle looks as if Sentinel and Megatron were mere sparklings and not mechs that had tried to cut out his spark.

Megatron looked back at him and he fled as fast as his crippled legs could carry him. That left Sentinel to stare at Optimus with wide optics.

"Be free, and do not come near me or my Autobots again. Do not harm my human friends, or any human. Do not harm any of the Earth's creatures or the trees. Do you understand, master, or must I repeat myself slower?"

Sentinel snapped out of his daze. "You've grown up..."

Optimus snorted, a puff of steam rising from his nostrils. It happened whenever he was frustrated or mad. Sentinel had always liked it. It gave him a good shuddery feeling, but now all he felt was dread. "I am not the same plaything you left on Cybertron to reunite with Megatron."

"Why can't you see I did it for you?" Sentinel tried to move closer, but Optimus lifted his helm and stood straight. He nearly towered over Sentinel (Sentinel still had a good foot on him), but he instantly shrunk back. He was out-dominated.

"You are not the mech I once loved," Optimus growled, and for some reason, that struck Sentinel down to his knees faster and more effectively than any blade Optimus could have wielded.

"Now," the Prime continued, "get out." When Sentinel refused to move, he fakecharged him. Sentinel got up that time, but he still stared at Optimus with saddened optics. "GET OUT!"

"Optimus..."

"I refuse to hear it! Get out of here, master!"

"Optimus, please."

Optimus narrowed his optics and he raised his sword. He pushed the mech back and shoved the blade through a piece of the mech's armor. It kept him pinned without hurting him. "Now...will you leave?"

Sentinel watched his successor walk away, then he pulled the sword out. He sat up and held the blade on his lap. Then he stood, shoved the blade into the ground, and he walked away. "Goodbye, my dear mech."

He knew Optimus heard him. The Prime snorted again.

Sentinel set his optics on the mountains. He would go there, live out the rest of his days in the peaks until his Energon wore out. He would not harm anything or anyone that Optimus strove to protect. He glanced back at his successor, then walked to the mountains, wondering if he would see his mech again. _No,_ he thought as he stood at the foot of the mountain. _Only in my dreams_.

**So...I said I wanted to go basically how DOTM went, and I did. I kinda took the book route, though. In the novel, Megatron and Optimus made a truce and Megs took off. I like that ending better than Optimus taking Megatron's helm off with an axe and then offing his mentor (That's the order it went, right!? I haven't seen that movie in forever. I can't watch Ironhide die).**

**I know I bounced around a lot and I hope you weren't confused. I did this since I didn't change anything between the two events I have written about here, and because I didn't know what I would do if I wanted to. Plus, it shows that Optimus is always open to forgiveness! I love that about Optimus, and I try to preserve that in my fics.**

**How did I do? Was it a flop? Or was it good? I'm pretty proud of it, being as I put it off and put it off and put it off...**

**Well, I'm still open for ideas! I'll try anything once. Bring on the fics you want me to read (which is **_**amazing**_** when you guys ask me to read what you guys created! I love doing it!), bring on the recommendations, and bring on the crazy crazy ideas you guys can create ('Cause we all need a little crazy in our lives)!**

**-Prime627**


	5. Chapter 5

Sentinel was an unofficial exile. Unofficial because he believed that Optimus had merely been emotional due to his arm having been torn off. But he was also wary of Optimus as he could dominate Sentinel without even lifting an arm. Sentinel's weaker, more submissive body would betray him and he would kneel and press his forehelm into the dirt.

But now Sentinel was less sure about keeping his distance from the Autobots. He was picking up radio chatter of Autobots flat-out disappearing, and then one call came through that said that _humans_ had been involved! Optimus had ordered everyone to find a place to hide and stay there. Sentinel had been hiding in the mountains ever since.

And now Optimus called in to say that he was on the run. Sentinel was spurred into action and he left the mountains to find Optimus.

He angeled himself to a city for two reasons: it was the closest one he could get to to refuel and a massive Cybertronian ship was hovering over it preparing to take off. Refueling would have to wait. He knew Optimus was on that ship.

Optimus was a bad-news magnet.

He snuck onto the ship. Because it had been made while he was a Prime, it responded to his spark signature. He heard some voices arguing, but they weren't familiar to him, and so they were dismissed, yet not ignored.

"Watch out. Booby-traps."

"How long do we have until the engines fire up?" asked another while someone else rambled off what traps this ship had in store.

Before anyone could reply, there was a scream and the soft grunts and clangs that rose whenever Cybertronians fought for their lives. Sentinel promptly hurried his pace.

He tracked Optimus down without a problem. The Prime was injured and so he left an Energon trail that could easily be tracked. When Sentinel arrived in The Trophy Room (so called by the sign proudly hung over the doorway), he found himself surrounded by beasts, Primes, and other magnificent Cybertronians. Some of them were alive, most of them were dead. The dinosaur-Cybertronians were alive, but barely. All but one Prime was dead. Sentinel only recognized his mentor's body and the angry voice of his successor.

"LOCKDOWN! COME AND FACE ME! COME AND FACE-_SENTINEL!? SENTINEL, WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?_"

Optimus hung from his pedes. A cut was on his helm and his spark was basically pumping the Energon out of him. Optimus could only survive like that for so long before there was simply no Energon left to pump.

"I've come to save you."

"I do not require your help!" Optimus glared at him. Primus, he held grudges, didn't he? So Sentinel crossed his arms and he watched his successor. They stared at each other for a long time before the Prime finally nodded and let Sentinel help him down.

There were rusted metal jaws clamped down on each pede. Sentinel had to pry them apart and then jerk his servos away before his digits could become the next victims. Optimus scuttled away from him. His pedes were damaged, he was light-helmed, and he was weak. And that was _before_ his team stormed in and scared the slag out of him.

Sentinel wrapped his arms around the smaller mech, stroking his helm to soothe his successor. The larger mech was staring at him while Optimus' optics slowly dimmed and then closed.

"What did you do to him?"

"I saved him."

"Who are you?"

"I am Sentinel."

"What are you doing here?"

Optimus raised his helm. A blue armored mech was examining his pedes. The Prime gave him a subtle nod and Sentinel touched his helm, stroking gently again. Optimus pushed him away.

"Drift."

The mech at his pedes looked up and shook his helm. "You cannot walk, Sensei. Hound, can you carry him?"

"Not well or for very long."

All optics turned to Sentinel, who was stronger and larger than all of them. Optimus grumbled a bit, then let Sentinel lift him.

"Get out us out of here, Hound. We will be out of here before Lockdown knows I have left."

The heaviest mech ran off in search of the cockpit and that left Sentinel with Optimus, Drift, and an angry green armored mech that had two favored guns on his hips like an aggressive cowboy. Optimus wasn't about to just let Sentinel off the hook.

"So _you're_ the mech that tried to off Optimus."

Sentinel's mouth narrowed into a thin line that resembled the one Optimus had worn years before.

"Where have ya been all this time, traitor?"

"In the mountains," Sentinel said. He wasn't interested in taking Crosshairs' bait. The mech wanted to provoke the mech. Sentinel wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of succeeding.

The ship, one of the arms of the bigger ship, started to plummet and Crosshairs was promptly thrown against the opposite side of the ship. Sentinel had expected the drop and he leaned back with Optimus' weight helping him stay on his pedes. Drift, the ninja, was having a hard time himself staying on his pedes, but he managed just barely. Hound glanced back at them all, grunted, and apologized.

"Whoops, sorry guys."

Sentinel merely grunted in response, adjusted his posture, and walked with Optimus in his arms. He guided the mech to land safely, but then it was hit by...something. It started to go down, spinning and spinning and smoking. Sentinel cushioned Optimus' body with his own when it crashed.

When Sentinel had Optimus situated, he ordered Hound and Bumblebee to go after the humans Optimus never stopped fussing about. He watched them go for a bit before he turned back to his whimpering successor. His pedes were damaged and Sentinel wondered if he would ever walk again. Then his helm snapped up.

"Wait here," he growled. He meant it. Orion had a tendancy to follow him or run out, but Optimus was fairly obedient although he was more dominate than Sentinel and therefore was not really held by any command issued by a submissive mech.

Sentinel walked to the crashed ship and broke open a couple cages. He let the corpses hang, only worried about the live ones. They followed him out obediently. They were submissive and he was dominate, but they would test him. They would test them all for any weaknesses.

He could not afford weakness.

The largest mech tested him first, but he pushed him away. He was Optimus'. The other Prime stood on shaky legs and caught the sword of Vector Prime, the rarest of swords, when Sentinel tossed it to him with one command. _Show him who belongs to who_.

Optimus stood up straighter when the massive mech charged him. Optimus swatted the mech's face with the flat end of the sword and the large mech went reeling back not in pain, but to look at the offending Prime with a better optic. Sentinel was busy with the Optimus' mech's equal, one with a vicious set of jaws and spikes on its back.

Drift and Crosshairs had scuttled to the waterfall, and that was better. Sentinel would make each one submit if he had to.

He was being tested again. He expected the monster to come at him, so he lifted a length of chain. He threw his sword at the bot's legs and he watched it trip. They weren't very coordinated, but they were equiped with the ability to be destructive and horrifying to the enemy. Before the monster could get up, Sentinel fashioned a halter around the massive helm. He jerked on the chain and looked into the monster's optic. It blinked. It showed one thought: _I will submit for now_.

Optimus had his mount on his belly as well and he stepped on the back of its neck, letting his sword scrape across the monster's horn. Its optics rolled back and its glossa lifted in its mouth to lick at its denta nervously. It stood and allowed Optimus to sit on the shoulders.

Sentinel kept his mount by his side as he lifted his sword. The smaller beasts were easier to make submit. They had seen the larger ones give, and so they gave. He got Drift to ride on the flying beast and he roughly coaxed (threw) Crosshairs onto the shorter and bulkier one. Then he mounted his beast.

Optimus settled and he glared at Sentinel as he pulled back on the horns. "We battle together and then what?"

Sentinel jerked on the makeshift bridle, looking his apprentice up and down. "And then I return to the mountains."

Optimus looked at him in surprise, but said nothing. Then they led the team into battle.

Together.

**ooo**

Optimus was saying his goodbyes. He had gotten to Sentinel when the two Primes suddenly could not speak. Optimus' optics lowered and he was Orion again. He pressed his forehelm into Sentinel's shoulder and the older mech drew him closer. Sentinel stroked his helm.

"You grew up," he whispered. Optimus made an amused sound, tried to pull away, and found he could not. Sentinel stared into his optics. "I refuse to let you go alone."

Optimus pulled away. "I cannot let you follow me."

"I can't let you run away without me. I already let you charge into battle by yourself once. Never again."

Optimus stared at him. "I do not matter to you anymore."

Sentinel grabbed his face and he pulled his successor back to him when he tried to walk away. "You don't know that."

Optimus looked up into his optics and he looked eons younger. Sentinel let his forehelm rest on his.

"You may tail me if you can keep up," Optimus said. A slight smile played at his lips, but it vanished before anyone else could see. "The rest of you, stay around the humans. They are our best, possibly our only ally. Keep them safe." He looked at the Dinobots, who were watching with bright optics. "YOU ARE FREE!"  
The largest one tipped its helm back and roared, spitting fire, then it led its team away. No 'bot really cared where so long as people were safe, and Optimus prayed that they would be.

Sentinel stood beside Optimus.

"The last time you stood next to me," Optimus said as he prepped his gear, "was when you were awakened."

Sentinel prepped his own gear, frowning as he thought back to that time. "I suppose you are correct. Time has flown, yes?"

Optimus grunted, but his smile returned. He lifted his shield and looked over at his mentor. "Are you still the fastest flier?"

Sentinel lifted his own shield and he shoved Optimus in a good-natured way. "No one is faster than a Seeker."

"I think we will find that out soon enough, mm?"

The last thing the Autobots saw from their leaders were two streaks of color: One red and blue, the other crimson.


	6. Chapter 6

**I had saved this to be written for when Transformers 5 (The only logical name for it would be Five Faces of Darkness. What do you guys think?) came out, but I've been roused by a guest and I feel compelled to write, so I will. This section will be at least two parts when I have finished, so be prepared...**

Sentinel and Optimus settled down to rest on Moon Base One, adjusting their armor and gear on their backs.

"So, what do we do when we get there? Think, Prime, think..."

Optimus sighed as he sat, looking at the base in the distance and he stood to walk over to it. "We find our creators."

"Do you think they will be on Cybertron?"

"The way Lockdown spoke, it sounded like they were close..." Optimus squinted at the stars, frowning, and then he walked into the base and dusted off all the equipment. He sighed and tapped into the star maps, projecting them all around.

Sentinel leaned in the doorway, watching. Orion Pax had not been expelled from Optimus' body when he became Prime. He sighed softly and looked around the cold, sterile room. He didn't like it here. It was lifeless, and he felt like he was the last mech on Cybertron, with just his apprentice for love, support.

Affection.

He twitched and stood up straight. "Optimus?"

The Prime looked at him from the corner of his optic and grunted.

Sentinel blinked softly. He hadn't known Orion to be so...cold. It was as if the room had sucked the warmth out of him like a hungry vampire the moment he had entered. "We could liven this place up," he offered.

Optimus blinked slowly, then looked at the star maps. He was _ignoring_ him!?

Sentinel had a way to fix that. He walked right up behind him, wrapped his arms around his hips, and pressed his panel into his aft. Optimus barely even moved.

"When have you become so needy?" Optimus breathed and he turned around, assessing Sentinel with cold optics and an expressionless face. He sighed through his nostrils, and then his mouth was on Sentinel's.

Sentinel had never really paid attention when he and Optimus fragged. He pressed his spike into his mate's valve and let nature take her course. That was it for Sentinel, and he had thought it was it for Optimus as well, just a rhythm of movement against his aft and inside it. But was that because he had been dominant? Had been giving it out instead of taking it? Because with Optimus in control, his sensors were lighting up as if he were being electricuted.

"Ahhh..." Sentinel pushed back on Optimus' chest, gasping for a proper intake. Optimus' optics had lightened up, but he was still frowning at the older mech. "How did you learn to do that?"

He remained quiet, then he pushed the older mech back against the wall, his chest pressing into the metal. Optimus rubbed his plating down to his hips where he gripped him, and then his valve was opened up.

Sentinel had never been dominated. He had been the most dominant mech on the face of Cybertron. He was the Alpha mech, but now he was a Beta, Omega at worse. The Alpha was behind him, pressing his spike into his valve and grunting into his audio.

Optimus moved inside him for hours. He held Sentinel up when his legs started to fail him. Somehow, Optimus had gotten the stamina Sentinel never had. The older Prime overloaded, once again, onto the wall and sagged against Optimus, resting his helm on the mech's shoulder.

Optimus overloaded for the first time then, and he brought his mouth against his mentor's audio. "Are you better now?"

Sentinel's optics flickered once and he slowly climbed to his pedes, looking down his back at his aft. Opitmus was still buried inside, and he pushed the younger Prime's hips back, hissing when the spike slipped out of his valve. He touched the aching opening. "Better..."

Optimus cleaned him up, kissing his side, just below his frame protecting his spark, the _ribs_ on a human. He wrapped a single arm around him, pulling him close while he flushed Sentinel's valve out (something Sentinel never did to Optimus). He wiped down the wall and found a tub of polish in a closet that he offered to Sentinel. The Prime raised his optic ridge.

"I don't think if we showed up all beautiful and shiny, the Creators will just let us go."

Optimus raised his own optic ridge. "Mm..." He positioned the older Prime in front of a full-length mirror and pointed out the scuff marks on his aft. Sentinel grumbled. "It could save you a moment of embarrassment," he offered gently. He looked around the base, then walked off again before he made a disgusted grunting noise. A body struck the opposite wall from the closet Optimus had walked in, and it made Sentinel flinch.

He came back with red paint. "Can you reach your aft?"

Sentinel touched the plating there, frowning. Optimus sighed and knelt. Though he sounded irritated, Sentinel knew Optimus loved to fuss. He fussed over his medic, his team, he even fussed over the humans. He did it more when he was nervous or anxious. It gave him something small to worry about rather than a war or meeting his Creators.

Optimus stood and he dusted his servos off, looking at the body he had discarded. He walked to it, lifted it as though it were suddenly glass, and he went outside, apparently to bury it.

Sentinel swept a table clean of computers, datapads, and other tech they had no use for. He found blankets and one flat pillow, and he laid in wait for Optimus.

He fell asleep before Optimus returned.

**ooo**

Optimus leaned in the doorway, watchig his mentor sleep. All that time he spent hating him, all the feeling of dread and anger towards Sentinel, it amounted to nothing when he saw his mentor curled up on the table.

He had expected some knight in shining armor, but he got an old mech that had lived past his time. He doubted Sentinel even knew what they were going to do, what would happen to them.

He was vulnerable.

That thought made Optimus flinch as though he had received a slap to the face. Sentinel and vulnerable had once mixed like oil and water, now it was easy to see Sentinel as vulnerable.

Optimus sighed and he walked to the mech, crawling under the blanket and he nestled against the red armored mech he had once known as his mate.

Could they be mates again?

That thought was quickly driven out by fear, and his helm jerked up. Sentinel woke up, clinging to Optimus like a scared Earth kitten.

The door was blown off its hinges and it struck the opposite wall. The older Prime flinched, but Optimus' optics were wide.

"You!"

**Who visited the Primes? Unbeknownst to you, that's who XD So, how's this for a continuation? Exciting or is it making you snore?**


	7. Chapter 7

Optimus got up and ran to the bot standing in the doorway. It was a full-on charge that could cripple the intruder should he put all his weight on the bot's spinal strut, but instead he threw his arms around the mech's neck and squeezed in an embrace. "Alpha Trion," he said, grinning from audio to audio.

"I was wondering who could possibly be here. What are you doing here, Optimus?" His optics were dim with concern. "Cybertron hasn't recovered, and Primus has just finished purging himself of Dark Energon. This planet is not ready for its population to return."

Optimus shook his helm. "We're looking for our Creators..."

Alpha Trion didn't move for a long time, and then he nodded slowly. "Oh, them... They are not on Cybertron anymore." He pulled out the massive Covenant of Primus from Primus knows were and he opened it like a parent might open a storybook. "We were told, long ago, that the Thirteen were built to save Cybertron from Unicron, but there were other things Primus sent them to do..."

While Alpha Trion spoke, the Matrix decided now would be the perfect time to put Optimus in a dream state, something he often got from the Matrix. It looked like he was listening, but his optics whitened and he didn't respond.

_Solus was mourning over a tomb, her helm down and her shoulders lowered. She was closing her optics slowly, tears rolling down her cheeks._

_ Optimus knew that what she was mourning over was his past life. He had died during the Battle for Cybertron._

_ "Solus," Vector Prime whispered. "The Quintessons are back..."_

_ "Leave me a little longer," she whimpered._

_ "I cannot. They desire to speak with us about..." Vector trailed off, shaking his helm. "It is complicated, what they say..."_

_ The Quintessons, organic creatures with tentacles and some with rotating helms, were interested in Primus' creations, and they offered to create more since "the Thirteen wouldn't live long"._

_ They offered to take Solus' CNA to create femmes like her, and they took CNA out of the other ten, since Nova, or rather, The Fallen had left Cybertron, to create more mechs._

_ Unbeknownst to them, the new sparklings were formed in dishes under microscopes and they were later used, not to populate Cybertron, but to build it. Cybertron would become the Quintessons' new home._

_ Solus fought for them, even when her brothers didn't. Her brothers grew interested in the stars and wondered what else was out there. Gradually, more and more left, including Minicronus, Liege Maximo, and Vector Prime. The rest stayed longer and watched their partial-creations._

_ They were smaller. They had to be to suit the Quintessons' needs. They were only a few helms shorter than Prima, and they were clueless. They only knew what they were told, and more times than not, it was nothing._

_ And then the Quintessons started to breed with the femmes, using them as outlets whenever they were angry or frustrated. That was all well and good before one of the femmes turned up with a bulging belly. She was killed due to the false idea she had a tumor, but when she was examined, there was a wriggling, struggling-to-breathe sparkling inside her. It was tiny, barely formed, and it was called Primo. And it died, nestled in its carrier._

_ The Quintessons were wary now, finding more and more femmes will swollen abdomines. Most were killed, but a few were smuggled away by Solus Prime, and their sparklings were raised under the remaining Primes._

_ They grew up to be Novo, Obsidian, Violet, and Streaksetter. They bred with the Thirteen when they were older, and their creations bred with the Quintessons' creations, until a small band of rebels were created._

_ By this time, Solus had died and Alpha Trion and Prima were the only ones left on Cybertron. The rebels beat their great-great-great-great grandsires in a fight, and sent them back into space, never to be heard from again._

_ Until now._

Optimus shook his helm, sighing as he exited the dream. He hugged himself. Alpha Trion was still talking.

"After the Breeding Years, it was easier to build sparklings in demand, and then Primus created the AllSpark, and that formed sparklings, thirteen every other week." Alpha Trion took a breath.

"So why are the Quintessons back?"

"To start over, I believe. One experiment went wrong, and since Cybertron is once again empty..."

Sentinel sighed and he rubbed his helm, shaking it slowly. "This is unbelievable..."

"Believe it."

"Wait, if I was formed, why do I have heat cycles?"

"After us, only born Cybertronians had heat cycles. When we built them, we left that part of their systems out. We did not need nor want them to breed, and so they didn't."

Optimus looked down at his pedes as he thought. He didn't understand completely. "Take us to Cybertron, Alpha Trion." Perhaps visiting his planet would help him understand.

Alpha Trion touched Optimus' and Sentinel's shoulders (Optimus realized too late that Alpha Trion was older than Jetfire, and so that SpaceBridging was built directly into their systems and it wasn't the most reliable method of transportation), and then they were standing in front of the Well.

Optimus stared at it, tipping his helm. This was where he had come out of? He walked closer, tilting his helm the other way as if an intelligent thought would come tumbling out of his audio. None did, but he found something interesting.

Blue optics assessing him. He opened his mouth to alert the others, but the red, silver, and blue femme ran to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, not to snap it, but to squeeze him into an embrace.

"My son has returned!"

Optimus blinked, his optics wide and his servos hovering over his back. His mother? He slowly hugged her back, pressing his face into her neck. He sagged into her arms, and she held him up. She was larger than he by several feet, and he felt...small.

Sentinel and Alpha Trion were silent behind him.

"Welcome home, my son," she purred, and she stroked under his optics. "You have come home to us."

_Us?_

**Okay, maybe a fourth-part XD Didn't know it would take this long to get this all patched up. I'm kinda having fun writing this. If you're wondering where I got this idea, I am circling around one thing that Jetfire said in the novel by Alan Dean Foster. He referred to Optimus as an orphan, kept secret and safe in order to become a Prime, but for him to be an orphan, he had to have creators...**

**Anyone have a cool name for Optimus' mommy!?**


End file.
